Co-sponsors include: the City of London, Royal Institute of British Architects, The Civic Trust,
the University of Venice Department of Urban Planning, & the British Medical Journal.

University of Notre Dame London Centre
London, United Kingdom
June 13-17, 2004

"I passionately believe that the human spirit has a profound need for a sense of belonging and community. That quest for identity, something that is intrinsically of a human scale, is bound intimately to that which we build."

HRH The Prince of Wales

Plenary & Panel Sessions

The square as community catalyst
Designs for successful squares; details that matter; the role of markets and festivals; the history of the square from agora to market place; new & restored squares. Case studies & exhibits.

Regional architecture & urban identity
The DNA of the city; architectural identity of city and neighborhood; new projects. Case studies & exhibits.

How the city shapes identity
City form & identity; heritage & sense of belonging; involvement in community events; building identity.

Designing cities for the well-being of children
Urban design that facilitates social development, cooperation, self esteem, curiosity & autonomy; what children learn from the city. Evaluating new neighborhoods and towns for healthy development of children & youth.

Ecological & social sustainability
Defining social sustainability; compatibility among social and ecological goals.

Teaching the livable city
Teaching the city in an age of sprawl; value of direct experience; studio courses: designing urban fabric & squares; innovative curricula.

Special Workshops

Celebrating the European square (with the City of London & European Mayors)
Maintaining the square's historic role; the threatened European square (loss of civic-functions, overspecialization). World Squares Exhibit.

The built environment & the healthy city (with the British Medical Journal)
Influence of the built environment on physical, social and mental health.

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"The conference was one of the most interesting and genuinely useful for information gathering that I’ve been to. The different backgrounds of the participants addressing the same issues was the key."

Joe Anglin Glatting Lopez Kercher Anglin

"A wonderful Conference. I truly believe this is the best Conference on cities."

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., City of Charleston

"The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants."

Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Governor, State of South Baden, Germany

"Congratulations for your extraordinary and successful effort. The Conference holds a magnifying glass to the world’s best cities, revealing why, and how they work."

Benjamin Thompson, FAIA AIA Gold Medalist

"Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable."

Antonio Casellati Former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

"Thank you for the utterly fascinating conference in Santa Fe... It has been a long time since I have been intellectually stimulated and been involved with such international creativity and innovations. The conference energized me and I was able to bring back ideas and information to my city."

Councilmember Stephanie Karlin, Avondale, AZ

"What an amazing conference! One of the best professional events I have ever attended!! Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented."